Hanwha Life Esports moved into a tie for first place after defeating kt Rolster in their 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) regular season Round 1 match at LoL Park in Jongno on the 29th. Facing a situation where dropping even a single set would have left them in second place, the team delivered a dominant 2-0 victory.

The following is the full interview with Head Coach Yoon Sung-young and support player Yoo 'Delight' Hwan-joong.

Q. Congratulations on today's win. Could you give us your overall thoughts.

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = I'm happy we won 2-0 today, and I'm pleased that things went exactly as we had prepared.

'Delight' = I'm also satisfied because everything went cleanly according to our plan.

Q. You must have felt some pressure facing KT, who were leading the standings. How did you prepare, and what went well?

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = Everything played out just as we discussed with the players and coaching staff during our pick-and-ban sessions. Once we gained an advantage early in Game 1, I never felt like we would lose, and I think that momentum carried over to make Game 2 even easier.

'Delight' = All five of us played our assigned champion roles well according to the team's prepared draft. It was effective that we were able to identify and capitalize on our power spikes and the opponent's openings.

Q. You didn't have the best results during the LCK Cup, but you've finished the first round tied for first place.

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = When I first arrived, I think many of the players were not in good form. However, they worked incredibly hard. Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok and I had many conversations as he adjusted to the LCK style. Whenever we had differing opinions, we resolved them through discussion, and that improved things gradually. Also, the coaches did a great job, which I believe led to these good results.

'Delight' = The head coach and the coaching staff worked very hard, and the players all pushed to improve their individual form. We talked a lot and were considerate of one another, which naturally helped our team synergy improve.

Q. Since you have many veteran players, it must not have been easy to align your thoughts.

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = I had worked with Jin-hyeok before, so I knew his style to some extent. I tried to encourage more discussion about the changes he needed to make after coming to Korea, and we worked through how to adapt his strengths to the LCK team color. Even today, after the match, we will have a clear discussion about whether certain situations were fightable or not; this process of aligning our perspectives leads to good results.

'Delight' = The head coach and the coaching staff create an environment where players can speak freely. Thanks to that, we can communicate openly and comfortably, which helps us define and execute our game plans well.

Q. What areas do you need to improve further to qualify for the MSI?

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = I want to refine our coordination on when to commit to fights, like the mid-jungle skirmish in Game 2 today. If we can better establish which turns were fightable and which were not, I think we can perform much better than we are now.

'Delight' = I don't think there is a single 'correct' answer in gameplay. If we look back and find areas that need improvement, we will provide feedback as a team and fill those gaps.

Q. In the final skirmish of Game 1, there was a tense situation where your team was split. What was that like?

'Delight' = We saw that the opponents were split, so the top laner and jungler looked for an angle. The angle was good at the time, so we went in. Since decisions in teamfights change from moment to moment, I think our follow-up response was also handled well.

Q. Your first match of the second round is against T1, the only team to hand you a loss in the first round. What is your mindset going into that?

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = T1 is definitely a strong team, so there is some pressure, but our players' form is so good right now that I think if we provide good feedback and just play as we have been, we can win.

Q. Lastly, a word for the fans.

Head Coach Yoon Sung-young = I'm relieved we won 2-0 today. The players are working really hard, so I would appreciate it if the fans continued to support us.

'Delight' = We finished the first round well, and we will do our best in the second round to make sure we reach the MSI.